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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27726569">Light of Christmas</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RafaSnape15/pseuds/RafaSnape15'>RafaSnape15</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Terra Nova (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>But not that alternative, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Lights, Christmas at Terra Nova, Christmas goes wrong, F/M, First Meetings, Maddie is a genius, Maddie loves lights, Mark wasn't expecting that, Romantic Comedy, Short One Shot, alternative universe, kind of</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:23:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,159</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27726569</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RafaSnape15/pseuds/RafaSnape15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Maddie was a genius, but maybe her most doubtfulidea had the best outcome.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mark Reynolds/Maddy Shannon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Light of Christmas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            A translation of

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27726472">Light of Christmas</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/RafaSnape15/pseuds/RafaSnape15">RafaSnape15</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey!<br/>So, this is the first of a five series of short stories I made to celebrate Christmas. They don't have any connection but the place where the ideas came from (credits on the end notes).<br/>Good reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Terra Nova was exactly everything Maddie imagined. Their arrival there wasn't one of the easiest, after all, instead of three of them, Commander Taylor was surprised by five Shannons in a roll. Besides that, one month passed since they got there and Maddie thought they were adapted enough to the new reality.</p>
<p>Her father got a job with the Commander, her mother arrived home more excited each day with every medical discovery, Zoe couldn’t stop talking about dinosaurs that lived around them and even Josh seemed to make friends and undo that grimace that was almost tattooed to his face. She, on the other hand, saw herself fascinated by that new world full of exciting challenges.</p>
<p>Even so, Maddie felt that things weren’t back on track to them as a family. Zoe still didn’t adapt to sleep with her, Josh fought with every phrase from their parents and was pretty clear that the couple still had a lot to talk about their marriage.</p>
<p>And that’s why, when she figured out the habitants of Terra Nova also engaged in old traditions, Maddie decided that it was what they needed. After all, the Christmas spirit was the same no matter the year or place they’re at, right?</p>
<p>She volunteered for every and any preparation for Christmas. Making decorations stuff to the big tree in the middle of the place? Sure! Training kids to the teater show they would present before the feast? Why not! Grabbing ingredients to every dish to be shared with all the community? With all pleasure!</p>
<p>And then she saw a problem.</p>
<p>When she was a kid, Maddie’s favourite part of Christmas was the lights everywhere you looked. Despiste in the future the date not being so happy, the biggest violence statistics of the whole year, she was an innocent kid that only enjoyed the pretty colorful lights.</p>
<p>But the only lights available were used only in necessary ways: brightening the streets and the rooms during night. Nothing more. There were no different lights besides that white one. There were no tiny lamps.</p>
<p>She realized that when she finished decorating the house designed for her family and noticing there was nothing to substitute that little christmas magic.</p>
<p>“Maddie! It’s incredible!” she heard her father on her back while she analyzed the room around her.</p>
<p>“Still not good” she bite her thumb in doubt.</p>
<p>“What are you talking about? It’s perfect” her mom complimented too.</p>
<p>“There’s a very important thing missing. But okay, I’ll fix it.”</p>
<p>She nodded and with decided steps, Maddie went to the lab where she was interning.</p>
<p>If there were no colourful lights available, then she would make colourful lights.</p>
<p>____________________________________________________________________</p>
<p>The thing is that making colourful lights isn’t as easy of a task as she thought.</p>
<p>Maddie spent every minute of the next week testing lots and lots of possibilities of how to make the lights last. She revised every study about chemistry, bioluminescence and any other topic that could give her an answer to the thing that became a great dilemma in her life.</p>
<p>All the girl’s determination woke the curiosity of the Commander Taylor itself that promised her to give manpower to distribute the lights to every house in case she managed to accomplish her goal.</p>
<p>When she finally did it, Maddie started to mass produce the pretty lights and as promised, Commander Taylorreally got a good part of the soldiers to put the tiny shiny lights to everyone as fast as possible.</p>
<p>The process was slower than Maddie would like it to be, but going back home at the end of the day and seeing more and more places brightened by them made her heart race and a giant smile grown on her face.</p>
<p>She could already see the effect of the festivities on other people too. Everyone seemed happier, more charitable and attentive. She even heard some people commenting about how the lights gave a charmer look to the decorations already in place at every corner.</p>
<p>It was morning Christmas Eve when Maddie managed to separate some of the lights to her house and took some time to put them on. She started with the little tree they got in the living room and then passed to the entrance. With the help of some old stairs someone forgot by the limits of town, she started to hang fix as well as she could lamp by lamp.</p>
<p>Around the eighth or ninth little light she was already feeling sorry for the soldiers that had to hang one by one of the lights all over the city. She would make a point to cook them an special oven of christmas cookies and give them with her thank you, maybe the Commander could give her a list with the names of everyone that helped doing it...</p>
<p>She inclined slightly away from the wall to try and have a general view of the light’s positions without needing to get down and up the ladder again. Maybe such a risky move while her thoughts were away wasn’t one of the best ideas, but for sure someone scaring her didn’t help for her safety.</p>
<p>“Careful, Miss, that ladder doesn’t seem…”</p>
<p>Whatever the ladder didn’t seem, she would never know, since when the startle that voice caused her she ended up losing her balance. Everything happens in slow motion, but not slow enough that she could prevent the inevitable.</p>
<p>First her fingers left the roof where they were giving her some stability. Then her feet slipped from the steps where they were supported and she could feel gravity working first hand.</p>
<p>Her body fell right to the ground and all Maddie could do was embrace herself for that pain to come. She could only hope to not hit the ground on the wrong position, because a fall like that wouldn’t normally kill, at worse it would give her a broken leg or arm. Luckily just some bruises and scratches.</p>
<p>However, when she finally collided with something solid, it wasn’t the hard ground. There was something almost soft cushioning her fall. Something that smelled amazingly good and that left a painful growl when she finally adjusted her body to try and get up.</p>
<p>Maddie couldn’t find balance enough to be on her feet, but at least she rolled to her side, finally meeting the ground and staying face to face with the most gorgeous man she ever saw in all her life.</p>
<p>She didn’t know him, what could sound weird considering the human rate around there wasn’t that big. But it was Maddie we’re talking about. The same Maddie that always walks with her nose on her plex, making calculus, or reading, or trying to get to a new discovery that could make everyone’s lives better.</p>
<p>With the proximity between them, she could easily observe every detail of his face. In the corner of her eyes she could identify his soldier’s uniform he was wearing. The green of the clothes seemed to reflect in his eyes, leaving them even brighter. His eyebrows were well designed and eyelashes so long it would envy any girl that gave a damn about her looks. He’s face was mature, but still carried some child features that made him even more adorable. The skin was clearly marked by the sun, what made it look even softer. And the lips were the most attractive ones she ever saw.</p>
<p>Maddie didn’t even realize when she licked her own lips, so focus on the other one’s. And only noticed she was staring at the soldier when she saw a smile starting to appear by the corner of said lips that she looked in so much intensity.</p>
<p>“Are you okay?” A rich voice came from the man with a smile.</p>
<p>“Yeah… I…. ahn….” Maddie sighed forcing herself to look at his eyes again. Despite being slightly embarrassing, it wasn’t a sacrifice, even more when she noticed that his smile got to that green pools. “Wow! I mean, yeah, yea, everything good, magnificent. And you? Well?” Her eyes went wide open when she noticed what happened “Oh god! Did I hurt you?”</p>
<p>“I’m fine” he answered with a mysterious smile “no damage made. You shuldn’t hang yourself like that in this ladder, it’s unreliable.”</p>
<p>“Noticed” Maddy grimaced “but I had to hang those lights and there was no one else to do it.”</p>
<p>“You could ask the Commander, he got all the soldiers to do this job.” The man hit back.</p>
<p>“I know, but I want to do it personally, you know? After all that work to make them function, it wouldn’t be fair that someone else got the fun part of putting them in place. By the way, not that fun, I’ll need to rethink how to hang them on the walls because it is not easy and I don’t want people to spend so much time with such a complicated task that could be so much easier. And I’m rambling, right?”</p>
<p>The soldier seemed a little dizzy at the end of her explanation, what made Maddie blush and take her eyes away. She always dumped all her thoughts and knowledge at other people, but usually that people already knew her and knew how to deal with her spontaneous talk. And after all, none of those people were a cute soldier that for some reason hadn’t run away yet.</p>
<p>“Wait, so you are the one that made the lights?” he asked, looking surprised, seeming to decide which subject to follow.</p>
<p>“Yeah…” she agreed, shrugging. Weird move considering she was still laying on the floor.</p>
<p>“Brilliant! You made an amazing job, they almost look like magic!”</p>
<p>“It’s just some science, you know?” and then noticing that she was about to ramble again, Maddie holded herself. “Chemistry and all…”</p>
<p>“Yeah, chemistry” he answered with that enigmatic smile before completing “Anyway it is brilliant” he dismissed the girl’s humility.</p>
<p>“Thanks” she smiled feeling something warm go through her chest and decided to change subjects “but what are you doing here? Were you just passing by and just stopped to give some tips to the girl hanging in the ladder?”</p>
<p>“Actually, Ihave to deliver a gift to Shannon's house” he answered “a gift coming from Commander Taylor himself thanking for community services.”</p>
<p>Maddie was surprised. The commander sending gifts for her family was a little weird, even more with that general reason. But then, the Commander wasn’t a very… commum person.</p>
<p>“Your lucky day” she smiled “I’m Maddie Shannon.”</p>
<p>“Oh! That must be why, then, he’s thanking for the lights! And it's really nice to meet you, Miss Shannon.”</p>
<p>Maddie raised an eyebrow to the soldier’s manners and it was his time to have the cheeks turning red.</p>
<p>“Likewise, Mr…?”</p>
<p>“Reynolds, I’m Mark Reynolds” he pointed in his chest’s direction where a little plate showed ‘M. Reynolds’.</p>
<p>The two of them kept staring for some seconds more, not knowing what to say. Now Maddie could see the box Mark had in his arms before. It had fallen behind his head and seemed really big and heavy.</p>
<p>That though, like was typical of her, took her mind to think that he must be really strong to bring that box there in his arms. Which took her to look at said arms and notice that yes, he was extremely worked out. But then, he was a soldier and soldiers must be strong, right?</p>
<p>“Maddie? What are you doing there on the ground?”</p>
<p>Her father’s voice broke all the trance they were in before and made them remind that they were indeed laid where they fell for who knows how long.</p>
<p>“Dad!” She quickly got up, being mimicked by Mark who assumed that soldier’s posture “Oh, it’s nothing, I fell from the ladder, but Mar… I mean, Mr. Reynolds helped me.”</p>
<p>“Fell from the ladder? Are you hurt?</p>
<p>“No no! He kind of cushioned the fall.”</p>
<p>Mr. Shannon then looked up and down to the boy that supposedly saved his daughter, noticing the eyes she made to him when she thought no one was looking. With a tired sigh he commanded them to go to the medic wing and ask for Mrs. Shannon to check if everything was really okay and didn’t take no as an answer form neither of the youngers.</p>
<p>Maddie and Mark walked for a while in silence until someone started to talk. Then they couldn’t stop anymore, not even when Mrs. Shannon ran some exams to make sure no damage was done. Not even on the way back home when Mark insisted to take Maddi and help her finish the task with the christmas lights.</p>
<p>Some days later, when Christmas was gone and everyone started to put away Maddie’s lights, it wasn’t a surprise for Jim to look through the window and see Mark Reynolds hanging from a ladder. It also wasn’t a surprise when, as a thank you for the help, Maddie stole a kiss from the pretty soldier.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Coming from: https://promptinspiration.tumblr.com/post/134744507478/things-are-going-terribly-christmas-aus</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Original idea: “I just wanted to put Christmas lights up but I ended up falling off the ladder and crashing into you while you were delivering a package to my door but oh god you’re hot” AU</p></blockquote></div></div>
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